Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund decision delayed by the US SEC

An official document released yesterday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) states the agency is postponing it decision regarding the trading and listing of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) until September 30.

Exchange Traded Funds are marketable securities that track a basket of assets and their arbitrage mechanism is designed to keep trading proportional to their net asset value. ETFs are highly attractive due to their low costs and stock-like features and some consider them the next step toward the global adoption of cryptocurrencies as passive and regulated investment tools.

The Bitcoin ETF under consideration is backed by the financial services company SolidX and the VanEck investment firm. The SEC has decided to postpone their decision by two additional months and according to the notice they have received over 1,300 comments on the proposed rule change.

SolidX and VanEck initially announced their Bitcoin exchange-traded fund at the beginning of June. Based on the information in the SEC filing, the price per share of the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust will be $200.000.

In an interview for CNBC, Daniel H. Gallancy, CEO of SolidX stated the high price of the shares indicates the fund is mostly aiming institutional and not retail investors.

This is not the first Bitcoin ETF for which the SEC has delayed its decision as last month they postponed their ruling for one powered by the investment firm Direxion until September 21.

The SEC explains their scepticism is caused by the unregulated nature of Bitcoin markets. Last month, the agency also rejected an appeal by Batz BZX Exchange Inc. to list and trade shares of the Winklevoss Twins Bitcoin ETF that was originally filed in 2016.